Dough mixing and kneading apparatus.



PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906.

L. A. ROBERTS. DOUGH MIXING AND KNEADING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 17. 1905.

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PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906.

L. A. ROBERTS. DOUGH MIXING AND KNEADING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 00117. 1905.

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LEWIS A. ROBERTS,

OF CARBONDALE, PFNNSYLVANlA.

DOUGH MIXING AND KNEADING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 4, 1906.

Application filed October 1'7. 1905. Serial No. 283,151.

To aZZ wlwm/ it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lnwrs A. ROBERTS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Carbondale, in the county of Lackawanna an State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dough Mixing and Kneading Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to apparatus for mixing and kneading dough in bread-making, and more especially to apparatus of this kind designed for domestic use with a view to sav in a large proportion of the labor now in vo lved in the making up of small batches of dough.

The objects of the invention are to provide a simple, cleanly, and easily-operated apparatus which will not only mix the water an starchy contents, but wil thoroughly knead and stretch the dough after its preliminary mixing, so as to thoroughly incorporate the gluten content under such conditions as to permit of the effective action of the yeast, thereby insuring a homogeneous compound,

which results in bread conforming to the highest standardof excellency.

The invention consists in certain novel details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be now described, and pointed out particularly in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section through a dough and kneading apparatus embodying the present improvements, parts being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section through a portion of the driving mechanism. Fig. 4 is a detail elevation of the end of the clamp member looking from the righthand side in Fig. 2.

Like letters of reference in ures indicate the same parts.

The body of the apparatus is formed by a receptacle A, preferably of cylindrical form, open at the top only and adapted to be clamped in position on a table or support, such as a shelf. In order to clamp the re ceptacle firmly and prevent any rotary movement on the support, a clamping member is provided which will engage the receptacle on opposite sides-that is to say, a clamping the several figmember is provided with a long arm, lettered B in the accompanying drawings, adapted to ass through two loops or yokes C, secured to the bottom of the receptacle and located in proximity to opposite edges. The clamp itself, lettered D, maybe of any usual construction, but is preferably somewhat extended laterally of the arm B and provided with two clamping-screws d, whereby a stiflicient purchase may be obtained to resist effectually any rotation of the receptacle during the mixing and kneading operations to be hereinafter described.

The mixing and kneading meche nism consists, essentially, first, of a mixing hook or frame adapted to be rotated by the direct application of power to its shaft, and, secondly, of a kneading-frame adapted to be rotated through the medium of powergearing, whereby the kneading operation may be continued until the desired consistency is reached. i

As a most convenient arrangement the receptacle is provided centrally at the bottom with a step-bearing E, adapted for the reception of the lower end of a shaft F, and

theshaft F is guided and supported at its up or end by a removable cross-piece or spider G. The latter is bifurcated at one end and the arms g provided with hooks g, adapted to take under the beaded upper edge of the receptacle and to be positioned on the receptacle by a spacing-piece H, as will be readily understood from .inspection of Fig. 4. At

the opposite end the cross-piece or spider G is provided with a clamping device consisting, preferably, of a pair of downwardly-extending arms g and a clamp-screw g of ordinary construction.

The shaft F is the mixer-shaft, and in proximity to its lower end it has rigidly mounted thereon a hook-shaped arm or mixer proper of peculiar conformation that is to say, the body portion 1 extends substantially horizontally on opposite sides of the shaft, and at one end it is provided with an upwardly and inwardly extending or inclined projection I. The operating-handlc K for the mixer is applied directly to the upper end of the shaft F.

Journaled on the shaft F is a kneading and stretching frame, preferably consisting of a substantially rectangular skeleton frame L and a substantially rectangular projection L at one side thereof adapted to pass around the projection I v on the kneader and the lower bar L of which extends beneath the kneader back to the shaft F and is jonrnaled thereon, while the lower angle 3 centrally by being secured to the downwardly-extending sleeve M of a worm-gear M, journaled in the cross-piece or spider G, and said sleeve and worm-gear constitute the direct bearing for the shaft F. The wormgear and kneader-frame are connected for rotation by a set-screw m, and in order to insure the easy assembling of the parts the said sleeve M is preferably provided with a groove m, which will ermit the sleeve to enter the upper end of thh kneader-frame only when the groove or keyway m is in line with the set-screw m. (See Fig. 3.)

Meshing with the worm-gear M is a Wormwheel N, journaled in bearings N on the cross-piece or spider G and mounted shaft 0, to which a crank-handle Obviously rotation of the shaft 0 imparts a slow but powerful movement to the kneader frame, while rotation of the shaft the medium of the handle K will impart a direct but less powerful and more rapid movement to the mixer I I.

Provision is made for holding the mixer against rotation, preferably consisting of a removable pin Q, adapted to pass through an opening in the handle K socket R on the it is obvious that by other means, if so may the handle, so as to intersect thereby prevent rotation.

In operation the ingredients.flour, water,

desired, or

its path, and

eral ingredients into a uniform mass which quickly assumes the consistency of dough, and as the dough approaches the condition appropriated for the kneading operation it is found that the labor of rotating the mixer by ther manipulation of the apparatus the mixer is locked against rotation, as before deand to seat in a i cross-piece or spider G but the said handle may beheld f the pin Q be dropped into place on either side of eader-frame I kneader-frame and Walls of the receptacle and between the kneader-frame and mixer, and at the same time ample opportunity is afforded for the entry .of air and for the effective action of the yeast upon the gluten or inclined arrangeprojection I of the mixer insures the effectual transference of portions of the h from the center toward the periphery of the receptacle, and vice versa, whereby no portion of the dough will be left unacted on but, on the contrary, all of the batch will be uniformly drawn, into the final product ready to be set aside for rising.

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a dough mixing and ratus for domestic use, the

ames against rotation while the other is being rotated. Y

2. In a dough'mixer and kneader for breadmaking, the combination with the verticallyj arranged cylindrical receptacle, independent Q eading and mixing frames journaled concentrically in 8. In a dough appagratus for domestic use the combination with j a cylindrical receptacle and means for clampduring the rotation of the 0th stantially as described.

4. In a dough mixing and kneading apparatus, for domestic use, the combination with a cylindrical receptacle and means for clamping it in. position against rotation, of a central shaft journaled in the receptacle and frame journaled on the shaft and having a tially as described.

5. In a dough mixing and kneading appathe combination with ratus for domestic use, a cylindrical receptacle and means for holdstretched, and kneaded Having thus described my invention, what IIO ' projection through which the inclined ing it in position, of a central shaft journaled in the receptacle, a mixer mounted on the shaft, a handle for rotating the shaft, a kneader-frame journaled on the shaft, a worm-gear and worm for rotating the kneader-frame and means for holding the shaft against rotation during the kneading operation; substantially as described.

6. In a dough mixing and kneading apparatus the combination with the cylindrical receptacle, of the spider having one end bifurcated and the arms formed into hooks and downwardly-extending projections having a set-screw to form a clamp at the opposite end, a worm-wheel j ournaled in the spider, a worm-gear meshing with the wheel and also j ournaledin the spider, a central shaft j ournaled in the worm-gear, means for rotating the worm-wheel and shaft independently and a mixer and a kneadenframearranged concentrically and connected with the shaft and worm-gear respectively; substantially as described.

7. In a dough mixer and kneader the combination with the receptacle,of concentricallyarranged independentlyrotatable mixing and kneading frames, separate mechanism for driving said frames, one of said frames embodying an upwardly and inwardly inclined projection and the other rectangular P jectlon passes and means for holdmg one of said frames stationary while the other is in operation; substantially as described.

8. In a dough mixer and kneader, the combination with the receptacle and the rotary mixer embodying a projection, inclined in a lane radial to the axis of a rotary kneaderframe embodying a rectangular projection passing around the mixer and having the lower angle projecting downwardly and outwardly into proximity to the lower corner of the receptacle, whereby the dough will be drawn and stretched between the kneaderframe and the mixer and between the kneaderframe and walls of the vessel and means for holding one of said frames stationary While the other is in operation; substantially as described.

9. In a dough mixer and kneader, the combination with the cylindrical vessel open at the upper end, of rotary mixer and kneader frames journaled concentrically within the vessel, separate mechanism for driving said frames, said mixer embodying a horizontal bar having an upwardly-extending inwardlyinclined projection at one end and said kneader-frame embodying a vertical skeleton frame whose path of motion is within that of the inclined projection, and a rectangular projection at one side thereof whose path of motion is outside of the path of the inclined projection and below that of the horizontal bar; substantially as described.

LEWVIS A. ROBERTS.

IVitnesses:

GEO. HOWELL, M. G. CLIFFORD. 

